Wet-proof footwear.



No. 854,361 PATENTED MAY 21, 1907.

' J. A. KELLY.

. WET PROOF FOOTWEAR.

Arrmornox nun no. 22, 1905..

WITNESSES: B INVENTOH' ATTORNEYS m: uomils PI7ER S co, WASHINGTON, n. cy

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIon. .JonN A. KEEIIY, OF NEW-YORK, N, Y.

WET-PROOF FOOTWEAR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 21, 1907.

Application filed December 22, l905. Serial No. 292,951

T all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN A. KELLY, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Wet-ProofFootwear, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates, primarily, to an article of foot wear, wherein theseam between the upper and the sole is made impervious to moisture.

In one form of my invention I extend the water proof material over oneside of the sole so as to render both the seam and the sole moistureproof.

In one embodiment of the invention the new shoe is designed to preventwater from soaking through the sole, and through the seam between thesole and the upper, thus keeping the foot of the wearer from becomingwet. The seam and the channeled part of L the sole are also protectedfrom the moisture which is liable to enter between the sole and theupper, thus preventing deterioration of the stitches, and said partsare, furthermore, inclosed and protected against the accession ofdampness from the foot of'the, wearer.

The shoe may be said to belong to that class known as turn shoes, in themanufacture of which a channeled sole and an upper, turned wrong sideout, are tacked, or otherwise temporarily attached, to a last, afterwhich the sole and the upper are united by a row of stitches which passthrough the channeled part of the sole and through the upper, near theedge thereof. It is usual to trim the edge of the upper, remove thelast, and turn the upper so as to bring the right side outermost.

In the-manufacture of the new moisture proof turn shoe, according to oneembodiment of the invention, the upper and sole are lasted as usual andat this stage in the operation, the means for making the shoe waterproofare applied. Said means consist of one or a plurality of plies or layersof waterproof material, composed preferably of waterproof fabric, suchas cloth coated with rubber, although this particular waterproofmaterial is not essential. It is preferred to use two lengths or piecesof fabric, cut to the proper shape to cover the channeled surface of thesole, and it is also preferred to attach said lengths or pieces to thesole and the upper by the same row of stitches which unite said upperand the sole, thus facilitating the operation of making the shoe. Onelength of fabric is turned over the sole and the edge of the upper atone side of the shoe, and then secured to the channeled surface of saidsole, after which the other length of fabric is similarly turned orfolded over the other edge of the sole and of the upper, saidlastmentioned length of fabric being secured to and upon the fabricfirst folded over the sole. Preferably, each layer of fabric covers thechanneled part of the sole, from edge to edge thereof, and thus thewhole bottom of the sole is covered by the waterproof material. Theseoperations having been completed, the last is removed, the shoe isturned, and it is finished in the ordinary or any preferred way.

By attaching the waterproof material to the upper and the sole, and thenfolding the material over and upon the sole, according to one form ofthe invention, said material is made to inclose the seam, as well as theedge portions of said upper and the sole, and to cover the channeledsurface of the solo. The entire bottom portion of the shoe is thusinclosed and protected from dampness, and thereby renderedmoistureproof.

In the accompanying drawings, have shown one form of my invention,wherein Figure l is a perspective view'illustrating the operation oflasting a shoe; Fig. 2 is a similar view representing another stage inthe operation of lasting the shoe; Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinalsection through a shoe, when completed, the plane of section beingindicated by the dotted line 3-3 of Fig. 4; and Fig. 4 is a verticalcross-section on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

A designates a sole provided with. the usual channel a, and B designatesan upper. In the manufacture of the shoe the sole A and the upper B aretemporarily attached by lasting tacks or other devices to an ordinarylast. Previous to the step of sewing the upper and the. sole together,two lengths or pieces of waterproof material C, C, are attached to thelast 011 the respective sides thereof, so that the edge portions 0 ofthe waterproof material will lap the edge portion 1) of the upper andthe edge a of the sole.

The waterproof material may be of any suitable character, such as fabriccoated or impregnated with rubber, but it will be understood that myinvention is not restricted to the use of any particular moistureproofmaterial.

The next step in the operation consists in uniting the edge portions ofthe sole, the upper and the waterproof material, and in practice this isdone by sewing the parts together. The usual method is to unite theparts by a single row of stitches indicated at D, said stitches passingthrough the channeled portion a of the sole and the lapping edgeportions of the upper and the waterproof material. The sewing needlepasses through the channel a of the sole and the edge portions of theupper and waterproof material, the latter being folded back out of thepath of said needle, substantially as indicated by Fig. 1.

It is preferred to make the waterproof ma terial extend from the heelportion of the shoe along the shank and the bottom of the sole to andaround the toe portion, and furthermore, each length or piece ofwaterproof material C, C, is of such shape and size as to extendentirely across the bottom portion and shank of the channeled sole.

The waterproof material having been united to the upper and sole,preferably by the foot of the wearer.

the stitching operation to produce the seam D, the next step is to foldthe lengths of said material over the seam and the sole. It is preferredto fold the layer C over the channeled surface of the sole A, so as toinclose a part of the seam D, said layer 0 being cemented or otherwiseunited to the channeled surface of the sole. Said layer C covers theshank and the sole up to the toe portion of the shoe. The other length 0of waterproof material is now folded in the opposite direction and fromthe other side of the shoe, so as to overlap the layer 0, substantiallyas represented by Fig. 2, and this length C is cemented or otherwiseunited to and upon the layer O. Said length of material C also coversthe shank and the sole up to the toe portion thereof, and my new shoe isthus provided with two layers of waterproof material, one of which isunited directly to the sole and the other layer is united to the firstnamed layer. The two layers inclose the seam between the upper and thesole and they make the sole thoroughly waterproof,

so that no water can soak through the sole or the seam to wet the foot,nor is the sole affected by the moisture or dampness from After havingfolded the layers C, C, of material upon the sole, and cemented orotherwise fastened said layers in place, as described, the operator nowproceeds to remove the last from the shoe and to turn the upper in a wayto bring the other thereof outermost. The shoe is now finished in theusual or any preferred manner known to the art. For example, I may placewithin the shoe a shank E, and

the inner surface of the sole, as well as the shank, are coveredby afabric layer or sock lining F.

Although I have shown and described the lengths of material C, C, asarranged to cover the entire bottom surface of the sole, it will beunderstood that my invention is not strictly confined to this preciseconstruction and arrangement, because I may provide two comparativelynarrow strips of waterproof fabric adapted to be folded over the edgeportion of the sole and the upper in the lasting operation and to becemented, or

otherwise attached, to the channeled surface of the sole, said length orlengths of material terminating at or near the channel a, for thepurpose of protecting the seam D of the shoe. Furthermore, instead ofmaking the lengths C C, of waterproof material in separate pleces, thematerial may consist of a single piece of material having the desiredshape and width.

It will be understood that subsequent to sewing the length or lengths ofmaterial C, O, to the upper and sole the edge portion of the upper andthe waterproof material are trimmed in the usal way before folding thelayers C, G, into overlapping relation to the channeled surface of thesole.

By reference to Figs. 3 and 4 it will be seen that the layers C, C, ofwaterproof material are folded at c to inclose the stitches of the seamD at the respective sides of the shoe, and that the edge portion of theupper is imposed upon the channeled edge of the sole and the folded edgeportions 0 of the respective layers C, C, rest upon the folded edges ofthe upper. The folded edges 0 of the water proof material effectuallyprevent the admission of moisture to the edge portions of the channeledsurface of the sole, as well as affording protection to the seamstitches.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. In a shoe, a sole, an upper, and amoisture-proof lining partially inclosing the edge portion of the soleand inclosing the edge. of the upper, the same lining covering, also,one surface of the sole.

2. In a shoe, a channeled sole, an upper, and a moisture proof coveringattached with the upper to the channeled edge of the sole,

said covering being folded over the row of upon the sole and inclosingthe row of stitch ing between said upper and the sole.

5. In a shoe, a channeled sole, an upper and a moisture proof lininginclosing the joint between the upper and the sole and fastened upon thechanneled surface of the sole.

6. In a shoe, a channeled sole, an upper, and a plurality of moistureproof layers fastened to the channeled surface of the sole and inclosingthe stitches between the upper and the sole.

7. In a shoe, an upper, a sole, and lengths J of moisture proof materialattached to the Y edge portion of the sole and upper and folded uponsaid sole to inclose the stitches which unite the several parts.

8. In a shoe, an upper, a sole, and lengths of moisture proof materialattached to the edge portion of the sole and upper and folded upon saidsole to inclose the stitches which unite the several parts, said lengthsof material being united to the sole and to each other.

9. In a shoe, a channeled sole, an upper stitched thereto, and amoistureproof lining covering the upper surface of said, sole and thechanneled portions thereof, said lining inclosing the seam between saidsole and the upper.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN A. KELLY.

Witnesses:

H. J. BERNHARD, JAS. H. GRIFFIN.

